WTW has announced the appointment of Sarah Conway (pictured above) as head of its Ecosystem Resilience practice and director of the disaster risk finance/parametrics unit within the company’s Climate and Resilience Hub.
Since 2018, WTW’s Ecosystem Resilience practice has become a leading force in the risk management and insurance of natural capital assets, including multinational insurance of the Mesoamerican Reef with the MAR fund, catastrophe wrapper for Belize’s blue bond insurance with TNC, and protection of coastal fisheries and livelihoods in the Pacific with Rate, World Wildlife Fund and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Conway has more than 15 years of experience in climate and conservation finance. She served as lead climate finance negotiator for the US delegation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, including at COP21 in Paris. During her time at the US State Department, Conway also supported US involvement with the Green Climate Fund and GEF, and helped design and launch the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance and the Pilot Auction Facility for Methane and Climate Change Mitigation.
Most recently, Conway ran her own consultancy, focusing on innovative climate and conservation finance solutions.
Conway’s appointment coincides with WTW’s submission of its inaugural report on aligned activities as a signatory to the Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Principles (SBEFP), a UN Environment Program Finance initiative that provides a framework for banks, insurers and investors to finance a sustainable blue economy and support a healthier ocean.
“As the Task Force for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) gains traction, we are delighted Sarah has selected WTW as the best platform to serve the growing climate and conservation finance sector,” said Rowan Douglas, head of WTW’s Climate and Resilience Hub. “We look forward to her leadership and expertise as we integrate natural capital assets into mainstream finance and protect that value via risk management solutions.”
“WTW is committed to securing a nature-positive future for coastal communities and the healthy oceans that they thrive on through investment and risk advisory, as evidenced in our SBEFP report,” said Simon Young, senior director at the Climate and Resilience Hub. “Sarah takes us to the next level, bringing a wealth of experience across climate, nature, finance and policy, making her a perfect fit for our growing Disaster Risk Finance and Parametrics team and the pioneering work we are doing on ecosystem resilience, helping to further advance WTW’s role in shaping the global agenda for private-sector efforts for a sustainable blue economy.”
“This new role presents a unique opportunity to design, deploy and scale financial instruments that offer a triple win, benefiting people, nature and climate,” Conway said. “I look forward to working with the hugely experienced and talented CRH team and the wider WTW business, supporting our clients and other stakeholders to further strengthen their ecosystem resilience capabilities.”
